Lovato named assistant coachSpecial to The Monitor
ATHENS–To find an assistant coach, Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC)
head women’s basketball coach Bill Damuth turned to a former Lady
Cardinal head coach for help.
Damuth has announced Elena Lovato, who this past year was an assistant
on Joe Curl’s coaching staff at the University of Houston, will serve as
his assistant coach as he begins his tenure at the helm of the TVCC
women’s basketball program.
She reported for work Monday.
“We are very excited and fortunate to get someone of her caliber,”
Damuth said.
“Curl speaks highly of her and the contributions she made to his program
in her one year there,” Damuth added.
“She is great on the floor, great with the kids, great when it comes to
recruiting and great all around. She will take a lot off me and allow me
to focus on specific things,” he said.
Damuth said Lovato’s primary responsibilities will be to coach the
guards, monitoring players’ academic progress and recruiting.
Before joining Curl’s staff at Houston, Lovato spent one season as a
graduate assistant coach at Pitt State in Pittsburg, Kan.
While there, she helped with game tape exchange, the team’s academic
success, opponent scouting, travel arrangements and recruiting, as well
as traditional coaching duties.
At Houston, Lovato coordinated game tape exchange, provided oversight of
the team’s academic and community service as well as assisting with
on-the-floor coaching and recruiting.
In addition to her experience at the collegiate level, Lovato also has
coached at the high school level, serving as the head junior varsity and
assistant varsity coach at Buffalo High School in Buffalo, Mo.
While coaching at BHS, she also spent one year as a physical education
teacher at Buffalo Prairie Middle School, earning 2007 Wal-Mart Teacher
of the Year honors.
She also has coached and taught at Menaul High School in her hometown of
Albuquerque, N.M., where she served as interim head girls basketball
coach as well as assistant boys’ coach.
She also has sales experiences, having worked from December 2003 to
March 2006 in private business.
Lovato said she is excited about the opportunity to be at TVCC.
“This is a place I wanted to be. The college’s tradition, national
championships and the elite athletes and caliber of players I will get a
chance to work with are what attracted me to TVCC.
“I also am looking forward to working with Coach D (Damuth),” she said.
His work ethic and ability to recruit the top players are wide known in
the coaching profession,” Lovato said.
Lovato also brings an accomplished playing career to TVCC.
She started her collegiate career at West Texas A&M where she played for
two seasons (1997-99) before transferring to Missouri Southern State to
play her final two seasons, earning team captain and MIAA Newcomer of
the Year honors in 1999-2000.
Upon completing her collegiate career, she played in the Puerto Rican
Women’s Pro Basketball League for two years.
In 2001, she earned First-Team All-League honors, averaging 23 points
and 10 rebounds per game. She averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per
game in 2002.
Lovato also played for the Chicago Blaze of the National Women’s
Basketball League (NWBL).
She received her bachelor’s degree in university studies from Missouri
Southern State in May 2005 and graduated from Pitt State with her
master’s degree in physical education in May 2008.
Lovato said she had the blessing of Curl, who was the head coach at TVCC
from 1989-93, to join Damuth’s staff.
“He told me this was an excellent opportunity for me if I wanted to grow
in the profession,” Lovato said. “He also told me of his love for the
community and how the support of the program is unbelievable,” she
added.